Some things are just indicative of spring and strawberries are one of them. Sweet, beautifully red, pop-able, and a practically perfect seed display on the outside. But the berries I bought this afternoon were obviously grown under less than organic circumstances. They were a little pale and definitely not juicy, but I couldn't resist. These sad berries needed some help and shortcake seemed like a good answer.
However, the shortcake I have been accustomed to was always out of a Bisquick box. But I know now there is a healthier option and do my best to avoid food from boxes and cans. So I went on Pinterest and searched for a recipe. I ended up on the Better Homes and Gardens website with a fairly good recipe that could be tweaked to make it healthier.
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour, from freezer
(if you keep your flour in the freezer it makes wonderful flaky baked items because it keeps the butter cold and crumbly)
1 tsp baking powder1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp pink Himalayan salt
1/3 cup cold raw butter
1/2 cup raw, whole yogurt
1/4 cup raw honey
1 egg, pastured
2 tablespoons raw milk
5 cups strawberries, sliced
3 tablespoons raw honey
Whipped cream (please don't use Cool Whip, blech)
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Cover a baking sheet with unbleached parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- Using a pastry blender, cut in butter until it resembles coarse crumbs.
- In a 2 cup pyrex measure, measure out the yogurt first then add the honey, milk, and egg. Lightly beat with a fork or small wire whisk.
- Add to flour mixture and stir with a wood spoon until just moistened.
- Flatten the dough in the bowl the best you can. Take a butter knife and scored the top of the dough into 8 equal triangles.
- Scoop out each triangle and form a small disk on the parchment paper.
- Bake 12-15 minutes or until golden. Then transfer to a wire rack to cool.
- Meanwhile, combine 4 cups of berries and 3 tablespoons of honey in a bowl a lightly smash with a potato masher or something similar and set aside.
- To serve, split shortcakes in half; fill with strawberry mixture and whipped cream. Top with remaining berries.
Here is the original recipe if you are interested.
My kids are not fans of whipped cream, so I will typically mix up some raw yogurt, raw cream and sweeten it with a little honey. Then I drizzle it over. They prefer it that way and it sure is yummy.
